


Noli timere malum, sed time heroa

by aserene



Category: NCIS
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Children, Kidnapping, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-16 00:53:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29073636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aserene/pseuds/aserene
Summary: “You son of a bitch,” came the harsh whisper in a voice he recognized all too well and unfortunately other parts of his anatomy recognized. “Where the hell is she?”“You know, somehow I think I should be the one pointing the gun at you Jen,” Gibbs drawled...
Comments: 8
Kudos: 19





	1. A knife, a gun, and a bear

**Author's Note:**

> The story starts right at the end of Season 2, but with two major exceptions, Kate is never shot at. Ari tries a different approach to get Gibbs' attention. 
> 
> Triggers: Child kidnapped

Leroy Jethro Gibbs stepped off the elevator and into the squad room. The same thing he did every day, for years now. Agent Anthony “Tony” DiNozzo leaned against the desk of his partner Agent Caitlin ‘Kate’ Todd the two up to their usual morning bickering. At the same time, Agent Timothy McGee sat at his computer, most likely attempting to hack into something. He walked toward his desk, taking a good swig of his coffee and smacking DiNozzo upside the head for good measure. 

“Morning, Boss!” Tony greeted happily, accepting the slap as he usually did.

“Gibbs, the Director, wants to see you,” Kate informed, taking a breath from the bickering. Gibbs glanced at the steps and nodded.

“About the case?”

“He didn’t specify,” Tony said. Gibbs sighed, he’d been a little aggressive, and usually, Morrow never had a problem. However, he supposed pissing off the press did not make a Director’s job easier. 

“I want results when I get back!” Gibbs ordered, heading toward the stairs. He was just passing a large window glancing out at the sun when he felt a presence beside him. He was pushed up against the glass, gun at his chin.

“You son of a bitch,” came the harsh whisper in a voice he recognized all too well, and unfortunately, other parts of his anatomy recognized. “Where the hell is she?” 

“You know, somehow I think I should be the one pointing the gun at you, Jen,” Gibbs drawled, meeting her green eyes flashing with fire. His hands unconsciously dropping to her hips. 

“You know, Jethro, if I didn’t know how much of a bastard you are, I would take insult at that.” She pressed the gun just a little closer. “Now, where the hell is she?”  
“Shepard, Gibbs, get your asses up here!” Morrow shouted. “And Jennifer, don’t shoot him just yet.” 

“Is that an order, Director?”

“Jennifer,” came the chiding voice of one Dr. “Ducky” Mallard.

“Duck, you wanna help me out here,” Gibbs suggested, still a bit confused as to what the redhead was even doing here.

“Jennifer, he has no idea what you’re talking about,” Ducky told her, placing a hand on her shoulder. Gibbs watched in surprise as the fire in her eyes faded and was replaced with tears before going blank.

“You never…”

“Come along, Jennifer,” Ducky pulled her to him, knowing Gibbs was watching curiously. Ducky led the redhead up the stairs, Gibbs trailing along, glaring at his team, who were watching with surprise. Morrow was at the top of the steps along with a woman Gibbs guessed was Israeli. 

“Jenny,” the woman greeted. “We have received demands.”

“Where is she?” Jenny demanded. 

“Jenny, why don’t we go to MTAC,” Morrow suggested, nodding to Ducky to lead her that way. Gibbs stood still, eyeing the Israeli who trailed after his old partner.

“So…” Gibbs was at a loss for words.

“She’s a bit upset at the moment, Jethro,” Morrow said. 

“Upset about what?”  
“Just…come into MTAC,” Morrow commented, opening the door and letting Gibbs precede him in. Jenny was sitting staring at the screen, something in her hands; it didn’t take a genius to figure out that she had tears she was trying to hide. “Jethro Gibbs, Ziva David, Mossad.” 

“Mossad, well, after you tell me what the hell you’re doing here, I wanna talk to you about a certain terrorist.”

“You wish to ask me about Ari, yes?” Ziva inquired.

“That’d be nice,” Gibbs replied. He went to step toward Jenny, but Ziva blocked his path. “You wanna call off your hound of hell here, Jenny.”

“As much as I may enjoy watching her torture you, I need you to kill Ari.”

“Oh, so now you need me,” Gibbs retorted and instantly regretted it as he saw a deep pain in her green eyes. “What’s my favorite terrorist done now?” Jenny stood to her full height, and for the first time, Gibbs noticed the wince of pain as she shifted her weight. “Jen?” He cursed the tone his voice took.

“Jenny, you shouldn’t be moving,” Ziva cautioned. Stepping in place to support her friend, Jenny shrugged her off; she would not look weak in front of Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

“Jennifer, you should listen to your friend,” Ducky said, and it was this that convinced Gibbs that she was severely injured. 

“You’ve got quite the loyal St. Bernard.”

“She’s more of a rottweiler,” Jenny responded. “But she did save my life, so stop giving her the Gibbs glare. It won’t work.” 

“Ari took a shot at you,” Gibbs guessed suddenly, very concerned. Ari had gone after his Agent Kate Todd, gone after a woman he was close to; he hadn’t considered that he would go after a woman he was in…that was that he had a history with. 

“Ari has been coming after me for months,” Jenny revealed. “But you didn’t know that, did you?”

“I…” Gibbs was a bit speechless. He didn’t think Ari knew him that well, knew him well enough that the one woman who might mean the most was safely someplace far away. “How bad?” 

“He just aggravated old wounds,” Jenny said, turning away back to the screen. Gibbs watched as she squeezed whatever was in her hand. Morrow turned toward the group from his phone. 

“A package was delivered, for you Jenny.” Jenny nodded at Ziva, who went to fetch it and brought it back a minute later, handing it to Jenny. 

“You still haven’t said what’s going on.” 

“Jethro, you’re simply needed for your sniper skills,” Jenny answered offhandedly. 

“Director, could I have a minute with Agent Shepard,” Gibbs inquired, having had just about enough of her evasiveness. Morrow nodded to Ducky, who left, guiding Ms. David with him under protest. 

“Come, come, my dear, just let the two old friends catch up,” Ducky soothed. Morrow waited till the door shut. 

“I had hoped to do this differently. Jennifer, your gun,” he commanded. Jenny handed him her weapon, “and your backup and your knife.” Jenny glared but handed over the weapons. “The same for you, Jethro.”

“What?”

“You heard me, Jethro, both guns and the knife.”

“Come on; you can’t seriously think… what if she…”

“Then I’m sure you’ll defend yourself.” Morrow collected the weapons and left. Gibbs turned as Jenny sat back down in the tiered seating. 

“So…”

“Shall we skip you haven’t changed a bit crap?” Jenny asked. 

“Apparently, you have. You wouldn’t usually hold a gun to my head unless that’s a new…”

“You should shut up now. I made a mistake, I would apologize, but you think so little of them as it is. Now I’m simply here to ask you to find Ari and kill him.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be doing that anyway; I didn’t know…”

“He profiled you, actually Ziva profiled you for him.”

“What?” Gibbs snapped.

“He’s Mossad, or rather was Mossad, Ziva was his handler. She didn’t believe he was doing anything other than his job when he took your agent, hm…Kate, right?”

“Yes, it’s Kate.” Gibbs chose to ignore the jealousy in her voice. “What changed her mind?”

“Ari shot me after he lured her away from the house,” Jenny explained. 

“So he came after you to get to me,” Gibbs assumed.

“No, he came after me, for…something else.”

“What else, Jenny?” Gibbs asked, trying to keep the harshness out of his voice. He didn’t like the emotion she dredged up by being here, didn’t like that in response to her tears. He wanted to kiss them away. She turned away from him again.

“Let’s just say he wanted to repeat history,” Jenny said bitterly. He looked at her confused; if there was supposed to be a clue in that, he missed it. Gibbs chose not to question it at the moment but instead turned away slightly, giving her the space to compose herself. “I’ll ask the Director to join us so that I can open this box,” she said shakily. 

“I’ll do it.” He went to the door, and the party filed back in, all looking relieved to find the two in one piece. 

“Do you want me to open it?” Ziva inquired. 

“No, no, I have to…” Gibbs watched as Jenny took a deep breath, took her knife from Morrow, and cut the box open. He watched her face as pain flashed through it; he knew that pain. It stared at him in the mirror every day. Gibbs looked in the box but found it empty and turned to look. Sitting in Jenny’s arms was a brown teddy bear with a little red heart that read Be Mine. He’d given her that teddy bear, he was sure of it, but it didn’t explain why she was clutching the teddy bear in her arms. Gibbs stared at her as images filed his brain. Memories from a life he never spoke of, but one that had a teddy bear that he too held like a lifeline.  _ ‘Let’s just say he wanted history to repeat itself.’ _ His eyes widened.  _ She knows, she knows about…but why would she…how would she know? _

“We will find her, Jenny. I will talk to my contacts. Someone is bound to know something,” Ziva was quickly reassuring her friend. Jenny nodded but pulled the teddy bear closer, the faint baby smell barely soothing her aching heart. She heard the door slam close and glanced up. Jethro was not in his position. Ducky was staring at the door. Jenny got up and ran toward the door, yanking it open, spotting him by the elevator; she ran and slid in just as the doors were beginning to close. She waited until they did; the last sight of Ziva rushing to meet them did nothing to deter her. The second the doors were closed, Jenny leaned across him and flipped the emergency switch. The elevator jerked to a stop, and they stood silently in the dark.


	2. Enter the Villian

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be updating tags as I update the story.

Gibbs knew she was beside him; if he was honest, he had let her catch him, let them have the minutes to sort this out because otherwise they never would. He’d never told her about his past life, so he wasn’t sure how she had found out. It seemed he would get the answer as she clutched the bear tighter to her.

“Ziva profiled your whole team; I was curious at first when she asked about you. She said one of the people she looked after had had a run-in with you. I didn’t know, but her questions were simple, casual. I never really answered, except to confirm what she already knew; we were assigned undercover together. I’m not sure how much she knows after that, or at least I wasn’t sure. Ziva left the profiles in her locked box, but I…my curiosity got the better of me. I’d heard about…Stephanie, but…I just, I looked,” Jenny explained. He’d forgotten that when she got nervous, she rambled. “I…I’m so sorry, Jethro, I didn’t…”

“Who does the bear belong to?” Gibbs asked. Jenny stared down at it, hugging it closer a second. He saw the tears form at the corner of her eyes. 

“My…our daughter,” she whispered. 

“You sure about that?” his voice was harsh, and the tone meant to be hurtful. Gibbs couldn’t believe the words had left his mouth but responded as her hand reached up to connect with his face. He caught it, holding it tight, staring at her eyes. He met them, knowing the pain she was in, the pain of losing a child. 

“Bastard.”

“Jenny I…”

“For your information, Gibbs, I’m very sure. So sure that I had this done, just in case.” Jenny pulled an envelope from her pocket.

“Jenny, I…” he tried again, but she shoved the envelope at him, and he opened it, finding the genetic workup of the child’s DNA. Gibbs knew enough about the comparisons to know she was definitely his. “I would have…”  
“Convinced now?” 

“Jen, stop.” Gibbs caught her shoulders with both hands holding her in front of him. Jenny struggled against the hold. He let her fight him, holding her just tight enough to keep her from winning, till her frustration and anger finally drained her strength. Gibbs felt her weaken and caught her, pulling her close to him. He felt her warm tears soak his shirt, her body shuttering with the silent crying. “It’s going to be okay.” 

“No, it’s never going to be okay,” Jenny said brokenly. “She’s my whole life Jethro, my everything.” She felt him cautiously wrap his arms around her. “I…”

“It’s not your fault,” Gibbs assured. 

“I didn’t protect her, Jethro, two bullets, that was it, two bullets took me down and took my baby girl.” 

“You knew it was Ari…”

“I knew, I’d hoped he was going to exchange her for something with you, give her to you as a gesture of good faith or whatever, but she’s not with you. I don’t know where she is. She hates to be alone; she hates to be without her bear.”

“We’re going to get her back.” Jenny pulled away but only as far as he let her, which wasn’t far. She nodded, and Gibbs carefully ran his knuckles across her cheek. She didn’t move away, which he hoped was a good thing. “Maybe, once we get her back…”

“Yea, you can see her, I…I would have let you anyway, but you’d never talked about children, never had any I just…was afraid you wouldn’t…” 

“I love her already, but it might help if I knew what she looked like,” he teased gently. He caught the brief smile, glad that he could still bring one to her face. Jenny reached behind her, pulling out her badge, handing it to him. She ducked her head as he saw the first picture there, a picture of them; he pulled it out, staring at it, wondering if it meant something that he had the same photo in his badge holder, under his ID. Gibbs slid the photo out and found a picture of Jen holding a small girl in her arms. The girl had beautiful red hair, pulled into braids, and piercing eyes. He noticed one thing different, her eyes. “Was she…” 

“Born that way, yes, I can’t figure it out. Doctors said it happens.” Gibbs looked at the eyes, the perfect combination, one blue and one green. “They said when she gets older, they could get colored contacts, but I think she likes being special.”

“She has your smile,” he said, staring at the image engraving it. Jenny tried to hide the faint blush that crept up her cheeks. 

“I have a recent school photo of her if you want it,” she said.

“You have a copy of this one?” She paused but nodded. Gibbs said nothing but placed it back in her ID case and handed them back to her. His phone rang, and he pulled it out. “Gibbs.”

“Gibbs, are you okay? Tony said some redhead chick pulled a gun on you!” Abby’s frantic voice came through loud and clear. 

“Abbs…”

“I can kill people without leaving forensic evidence Gibbs, just give me names, and I’ll…” he hung up the phone, sighing. 

“You had to pull a gun,” Gibbs mumbled. Jenny looked at him, confused as he flipped the switch and hit the button for the lab. To her surprise, she found four other agents along with Ziva and Ducky waiting outside the lab. The Gothic looking one hurled herself at Gibbs, hugging him.

“Gibbs, you’re okay!” 

“Abbs,” Gibbs warned, and she let go, glaring at Jenny over his shoulder. “DiNozzo!” 

“Yea, Boss?” The man Jenny guessed responded to that stepped forward, and she watched, slightly amused as Gibbs cuffed the side of his head. 

“One of these days, he’s going to end up with a concussion,” Jenny remarked loud enough for the whole group to hear. They looked at her in shock.

“I never did,” Gibbs responded. She watched the younger man step forward and open his mouth, but the words never came out as DiNozzo slapped him upside the head. 

“Tony!”

“Rule 38 Probie!” Tony hissed. Jenny furrowed her brow in confusion.

“Never…believe an ex-wife?” Jenny repeated, looking at Gibbs. “How does that apply?” Gibbs looked appropriately guilty.

“Ah, different rule,” he explained hastily, cuffing DiNozzo again. 

“Boss, what was that for?”  
“Rule 38. Abbs, what have you got?” 

“Have you got a caf-pow?” 

“Abbs, you’ll get one later.” 

“But Gibbs…”

“I don’t understand why you work with these people; we need to be out in the field, Jenny!” Ziva protested loudly. Jenny hushed her friend, but the damage had been done. Kate looked over at the redhead woman standing close to Gibbs.

“Jenny?” Kate echoed, knowing she had seen that name someplace before.

“That would be me,” Jenny said. “Jenny Shepard.”

“Wait…you’re the redhead that pulled the gun…”

“Abby!” the younger male agent tried to hush. 

“Yes, I pulled a gun on Gibbs.” Abby huffed, clearly not enjoying the redhead’s presence. 

“Abby, I want to know where Ari is now,” Gibbs demanded.

“We going after him again, Boss?”

“We’re bringing him in, McGee.”

“To question?” Kate clarified. 

“Yea…to be questioned,” Gibbs answered, turning away from them. “By Ducky,” he added under his breath, but Jenny heard. “What else, Abbs?” 

“I found some steel dust and painted aluminum pieces in the sediment that suggests Ari is at a car plant or maybe a warehouse or something. I realize that doesn’t exactly narrow it down given that we’re in Virginia and all.” 

“McGee!” 

“Correlating known Ari sightings with steel mills or warehouses, Boss.” 

“DiNozzo!” 

“Getting a warrant now…”

“No, I have something else for you, Kate!” 

“Go get the warrant,” the brunette said already out the door. After she left, Gibbs heard a ringing and looked at Jenny. 

“It’s not mine,” the redhead said, glancing around.

“Boss!” DiNozzo handed him his phone that was sitting next to Abby on the table. 

“Gibbs.” 

“Agent Gibbs, I have something of yours…” Gibbs held up his hand, and the voices went silent. 

“Is that so? I know for a fact Agent Todd is upstairs in the secure naval facility,” Gibbs replied. 

“Oh, this is much more precious than Agent Todd, this is the one thing that can’t lie, and she has a message for you…” 

“My name is Leia Jacqueline…” A little voice came over the speaker, and Jenny lunged for the phone, only for Ziva to grab her. “I want my mommy!” 

“Ari,” Gibbs demanded, trying not to be distracted by the small voice of the little girl. 

“Consider it a souvenir from Paris, Agent Gibbs,” Ari laughed. 

“What do you want?” Gibbs demanded. 

“You, alone. I’ll bring my little gift, and we’ll make a trade.” 

“If I’m coming alone, what do you want in trade?”

“You’ll find out,” Ari replied. “Now there’s a parking lot in the old quarry down off of Mill Street. Do you know it?”

“Yes,” Gibbs answered. 

“You come alone, be there in two hours, and you’ll see this little girl.” 

“What do you want in exchange?”  
“You’ll see Agent Gibbs, don’t be late now.” The phone call was disconnected. 

“Gibbs, you can’t go alone!” Abby exclaimed once the phone was closed. “You can’t!” 

“I’ll wear a camera and a wire,” Gibbs said. 

“Boss,” Tony started. “Ari is…”

“Ari said alone, we know if we play by his rules, he’s fair. A little girl’s life is clearly in jeopardy.” 

“We don’t know who this girl is!” Tony snapped. 

“She’s a child, DiNozzo,” Gibbs said. “Get the gear, Abby. DiNozzo, McGee not a word to Morrow, or Ducky, you got that?” 

“Jenny, this doesn’t sound like Ari,” Ziva said. “You can’t let this happen.” 

“I told you why we came here, Ziva, Gibbs is what Ari wants,” Jenny said sternly, taking great care not to make eye contact. “He’s going alone,” she repeated, turning towards Gibbs so that the only person who could see her face was him. “Bring her home.” And then she left. 

“I disagree with this,” Ziva said. 

“You’ve made your feelings known; you can stay here with DiNozzo.”

“Jenny requires protection.” 

“She’s going to her house. She’ll be fine,” Gibbs said. Abby handed him a bag with the camera and wire. Ziva turned and left, heading for the elevator. “DiNozzo, keep an eye on her.” 

“Aye, Boss,” Tony said, taking off after the Mossad Agent. He backtracked, “What do I do if she notices?”

“Be charming,” Gibbs encouraged. The younger man disappeared down the hall. 

“Gibbs, I don’t like this,” Abby said, her bubbly exterior dropping. “You don’t know this redhead, she tries to kill you, and now, I get it, kids are precious, and we don’t want that on us, but are you sure…”

“Agent Jennifer Shepard was my partner. She was my partner for five years. That’s her child that Ari has; you remember how scared you were when he took Kate? Well, now he has a little girl,” Gibbs told her. 

“Ari is going to kill you.” 

“No, he’s not,” Gibbs cautioned. The Goth nodded. Gibbs turned to McGee as he left, “Make sure Todd is kept in the dark.” 

* * *

Gibbs went home first, pulling open a locked drawer in the basement. He examined the rifle and checked the components. Gibbs cleaned the gun quickly and grabbed the ammo before making a relatively familiar trip to Georgetown. He’d only been to this house twice, but he could remember it well. Gibbs knew he hadn’t completely processed what was going on. His former partner and lover showed up, she kept a kid from him, but none of it mattered right now. All that mattered was getting that little girl home to both of them. They could duke it out later. And Gibbs promised himself, however angry she made him, he wouldn’t let her walk away this time. With that solemn vow, he got out of the truck and walked up to the front door knocking gently. Jenny answered almost immediately, having changed into faded khakis with hiking boots. Clothes to blend into a rock quarry with. She said nothing in greeting, just grabbing her gun and a bag before heading out the door. The quarry's drive was short, but Gibbs knew he couldn’t drive all the way in with his passenger. 

“You going to be okay on your own?” 

“I’ve done this a few more times since you taught me,” Jenny replied. They both thought back to the few weeks in Serbia when, after recovering from various injuries, Gibbs had set about teaching Jenny how to use a sniper rifle. It had started as a long-distance shooting competition, but when Jenny had beaten him with her handgun, they had switched to shotguns and then rifles, and then Gibbs let her use his rifle, and her first shot he was sure was beginner’s luck. When she’d made a similar shot three times in a row, Gibbs decided to teach her. He trusted her to take a shot when he couldn’t, and with their child on the line, there was no one else. 

“She has one hair out of place on her head; you and I are going to have issues,” Jenny promised. 

“Stay low,” Gibbs warned her.

“I mean it, Jethro.” 

“You ever doubted me?”

“Professionally, never.”

“Don’t doubt me now,” he told her. Jenny got out, taking the rifle with her, and vanished into the hills of the quarry. Gibbs continued down the road and parked in the middle of the quarry as Ari directed. There were abandoned cars, and Gibbs glanced at each of them, noticing fresh tire marks. Likely Ari had been by earlier to scope it out and then left. Gibbs hoped by getting there early that he would miss Ari’s surveillance and give Jenny enough time to get to a spot without Ari spotting her. If Ari spotted her, this was going to be over before it began. A car rumbling caused him to look at the road,  _ Ari _ . He got out of the truck as the car pulled to a stop facing him. 

“Gibbs,” Ari greeted. 

“Taking kids now, Ari, I piss you off that much,” Gibbs taunted. 

“You have the misfortune of reminding me of my father, deputy director of Mossad, the bastard.”

“He didn't marry your mother, huh?” 

“That's what makes me a bastard, not him,” Ari answered. “Something I share in common with your daughter.”

“Don’t have a daughter,” Gibbs replied.

“Ah, that’s right, you haven’t met my handler, she profiled you, so I know about that poor little girl,” Ari smirked. “So perhaps to your knowledge, you don’t have a daughter.”

“Where’s the kid, Ari?” Gibbs demanded.

“Aren’t you the least bit interested in why I took this particular child?” 

“No, but I’m sure her parents are worried about her.” 

“Ah, parent singular, now, he would be if he knew who she was,” Ari said cryptically. 

“Come on, Ari, I met you on your terms. Where’s the kid?”

“Do you know her?” Ari said, placing a photo on the hood of his car. Gibbs carefully picked it up; it was an image of Jenny, unconscious in a large pool of blood emanating from her torso. Ari watched, and Gibbs made sure not to hide his reaction. “Jennifer Shepard, NCIS Agent, she was keeping a precious secret. She paid for it with her life.” 

“You killed an NCIS Agent.” 

“I killed the mother of your child,” Ari replied. “That little girl is yours.” He slammed another photo down of the girl covered in her mother’s blood. 

“You’re lying,” Gibbs snapped.

“You know I am not,” Ari replied. “Now you came alone, so I’ll be fair. The child is in the car.” Ari gestured to the vehicle with tinted windows. 

* * *

  
Jenny double-checked her position. She could see the truck clearly parked, Gibbs, leaning up against the hood. She glanced at her watch and realized she probably had another twenty minutes, but if Ari was early, she could spot the car coming. She knew Jethro hadn’t hooked up the wire or the camera that Abby had given him. Jenny cleared her mind trying to focus on what Jethro had taught her and not the emotions running through her as a mother, as a former lover. She adjusted the scope and then glanced down the road, hearing something. There was a car. Jenny tracked it with the scope, taking a deep breath as Ari got out of the car and came over to Gibbs. She watched Ari give him photos and nearly froze as through the scope she could see herself and her daughter in the photos.  _ Focus Jen _ , she could hear his voice telling her, and she shut off everything else. Jenny watched as Ari gestured to the vehicle. She couldn’t see through the tinted windows and could only hope there wasn’t a second person in the car. She saw Gibbs lean in, turning his back to Ari.  _ Damnit, Gibbs _ , she had to hope that Ari had her little girl in the back as she saw Ari pull a gun. He aimed it at Gibbs’ back, and Jenny took a breath before pulling the trigger. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 6 of Virtual Learning friends, as promised.


	3. Enter the Hero

Ari fell to the ground behind Gibbs, and Gibbs pulled back startled. He saw the gun and then looked up seeing Jenny running down the hill. Gibbs turned to Ari, trying to find a pulse, gritting his teeth when he didn’t. 

“Jethro!” He heard her voice and saw her running at him. “Where is she?” Jenny skidded to a stop at the front of the car. Gibbs looked away from her trying to think it through. “No,” Jenny gasped. “No, he had a gun on your head...I had to…”

“Jen,” he comforted, grabbing her and holding her to his chest. 

“Where’s my baby?” she cried. 

“She’s here, Jen; she’s gotta be,” Gibbs told her. “Ari is a chauvinist, but he made a mistake.”

“What?” 

“He left you alive, if he were really trying to get to me, he would have brought you with her, and there would have been a car accident,” Gibbs explained. 

“Car?” She looked around. “Cars, Jethro, your tech found steel dust and painted aluminum.” Gibbs went to the back of his truck and grabbed a crowbar. Jenny was running to the closest car and smashing a window, trying to pop the trunk. Gibbs was checking the backseat when he heard the trunk pop. 

“Nothing,” He said. “Come on.” They ran to the second car, Gibbs smashing the window and going for the trunk release. Jenny was looking around the yard as Gibbs checked the trunk, cursing. 

“Jethro, there are dozens of these,” she sighed. “Where is she?” 

“She’s here, Jen.” 

“Ari wouldn’t have kept her close.” Gibbs looked around at the abandoned cars. There was one further away than the others. 

“There,” he took off running, Jenny taking off right behind him. They ran to the blue sedan, and Gibbs checked through the windows. He grabbed Jen as she ran close. “Jen.” He pointed down to the wire. 

“He put a bomb in a car with my baby,” Jenny growled. Gibbs walked around before carefully approaching and trying the front car door. It opened, and he looked at the front seat, carefully examining the trunk release. “Jethro!” He came around the back, looking at where Jen was kneeling. 

“Air tube,” Gibbs said. “The wire’s a diversion.” He popped the trunk, and he spied the little girl with red hair curled up on her side. She was just stirring. Jenny was already reaching into the trunk to pick her up. 

“Mommy?” 

“Baby,” Jenny cried, holding her close to her. Gibbs watched his former partner cradle their daughter. He watched the little eyes peek over her mother’s shoulder. 

“Est ce papa?” Came the small voice. 

“Oui,” Jenny replied, turning to face Gibbs and allowed the little girl to turn and view her father for the first time in person. Gibbs watched as the little hand beckoned him closer, and he took a step. “Jethro, this is your daughter, Leia.” The little girl held out her small hand, and Gibbs shook it. Her smile was bright, and she let out a little fairy-like giggle. 

“Papa est comme superman,” Leia said, looking up at her mother. Jenny laughed, tickling her chin. 

“She thinks you're Superman,” Jenny translated. Gibbs placed his arm around Jen’s, holding the two of them to him. 

“Doda Zi?” Leia asked her mother. 

“Soon, baby, soon,” Jenny answered. “Let’s go home.” Gibbs nodded, helping Jenny climb into the truck with their daughter before running around to the other side and climbing in. The phone ringing got his attention. 

“Yea, Gibbs?”

“Uh Boss, Director kinda sort of knows about Ari,” DiNozzo said. “Wants to know where you are and why Agent Shepard isn’t picking up her phone.” 

“I’ll be there in thirty,” Gibbs said, hanging up. “Morrow found out.” 

“Looks like your loyal St. Bernard isn’t so loyal.” 

“Ari mentioned his father, Deputy Director of Mossad.” 

“Eli David,” Jenny replied. Gibbs looked at her. “Yes, I knew.” The rest of the ride was left to Leia talking to her mother in French, and Gibbs barely understanding most of the conversation. When they parked in NCIS and headed for the elevator, Jenny tried to have Leia walk and refused. 

“No! Mama!” She whined, holding her hands up. Jenny winced as she picked her up. 

“Jen, come on,” Gibbs said, holding out his arms. She tried to shift Leia to him, but she refused. 

“No Mama!” Leia responded. “Papa a besoin de te protéger.” 

“Okay,” Jenny conceded. “She thinks you need to protect us.” The doors opening onto the bullpen drew their attention, and they stepped out, catching the eyes of everyone. It wasn’t every day a child was in the bullpen. Certainly not with those particular agents. 

“Doda Zi!” Leia exclaimed, seeing the Mossad Agent leaning up against the desk. She nearly leaped out of her mother’s arms. 

“Leia!” Ziva called, seeing her safe. She caught the little girl from Jenny’s arms, and Leia gave two kisses, one to each cheek. Tony saw how close Gibbs was standing to the redhead Agent and noticed how his hand was curled around her waist. 

“Wow,” Tony whistled quietly but not quietly enough as the little girl tapped her aunt on the shoulder. 

“Doda,  Est-il porcin?” Leia asked. Jenny burst out laughing. Ziva grinning at her friend, nodded to the little girl. 

“Oui,” Ziva replied. “Il est Anthony Dinozzo.” 

“Aww, see Boss, the kid likes me,” Tony gloated. Jenny laughed again. Gibbs simply head slapped him. “Thank you, Boss!” 

“Gibbs! Why didn’t you turn on the camera?” Abby snapped loudly as she came running around the corner. She froze as she saw Ziva with the little girl. “Wait, you got the girl?” 

“Where’s Ari?” McGee asked

“Dead, shot at a federal agent,” Gibbs explained. “Go with Ducky and process the scene.” 

“Yes, Boss,” McGee said quietly, calling the good doctor to come up to the bullpen. The little girl smiled sweetly at Abby, waving to her before hiding in Ziva’s shoulder. 

“Aww, hi,” Abby greeted. “So what’s her name?” 

“Leia,” Jenny answered. 

“Oh, like Star Wars,” McGee said. Gibbs and Jenny turned toward him. “Um…”

“Carrie Fisher, Boss,” DiNozzo chimed in. “Real big series, making some new ones.”

“Yea DiNozzo, I know who Carrie Fisher is.” 

“But Boss…” DiNozzo faded off. He glanced at McGee before whispering loudly, “She’s not a redhead.” 

“Ah Jethro,” Ducky’s voice interrupted. “I’m glad to see you in one piece.” 

“Duck,” Gibbs greeted, watching the Scotsman come closer. 

“Jennifer, ah and Miss Leia, so happy to see you,” Ducky said, and Gibbs watched as the little girl blew the good doctor a kiss implying familiarity Gibbs wasn’t aware he had. “I’m afraid I have to run out, McGee?” McGee got up to follow him. 

“Ducky,” Gibbs called as he and McGee were leaving. “We’ll discuss this later.” The Scotsman nodded as he followed McGee out the door. “Where’s Kate?” 

“Right here, Gibbs,” Kate replied, coming down the steps. “I got the warrant, but you were gone.” 

“Won’t be needing it,” Gibbs said. 

“Gibbs, did you kill Ari?” Kate demanded. Jenny stepped forward but felt Gibbs take her arm. 

“Yes.” Kate took a step back, seeming surprised at her Boss, before noticing the little girl curled up with the Mossad Officer. 

“But you got the child back? When are her parents coming?” 

“Soon,” Gibbs replied, tapping a finger on Jenny’s arm. She bit her lip to keep her mouth shut. 

“Shepard, Gibbs, get up here,” Morrow shouted from the catwalk. 

“Haven’t missed that,” Jenny sighed, turning toward Ziva taking the child from her to the surprise of Kate Todd. Gibbs followed her up the steps, gently resting his hand on her back. He had heard her exhale of breath. Clearly, she was in some pain but was repressing it for their daughter’s emotional well-being. They met Morrow at the top, who gestured for them to follow him into the Director’s office. 

“I see Leia is recovered,” Morrow said, glancing at the little girl hiding in her mother’s embrace. “I know; I remember you didn’t like me much before, either,” Morrow sighed, teasing the little girl. “And Ari?”

“Dead,” Gibbs answered. 

“You?” Morrow questioned. 

“Yes,” Gibbs replied, glancing at Jenny. They both took a seat with Jenny resting Leia on her lap. Gibbs giving an abbreviated version of the events. 

“Well, I suppose I’ll let Director David know,” Morrow said. “Unless you would like to, Jenny?” 

“Ziva will handle it and escort the body back to Tel Aviv,” Jenny explained. 

“You missed the last meeting, Jenny,” Morrow told the redhead. Gibbs glanced at Jenny. 

“Then that’s it?” Jenny inquired. 

“I pleaded for extenuating circumstances. If you would let me…”

“No, absolutely not,” Jenny said sternly, almost pulling Leia closer to her. Gibbs watched the underplay, trying to figure it out. 

“Well, at least you can rest for a few weeks now,” Morrow suggested. Jenny nodded. “Did your partner tell you she left the hospital and flew to DC against medical advice?” 

“Tom,” she bit out. “Dirty trick.” 

“She neglected to mention that,” Gibbs replied. “I’ll make sure she heads home.” 

“Perhaps not quite yet,” Jenny gasped. “Sweetheart, I have to put you down.” 

“Mama?” Leia’s voice had Gibbs looking over at her. 

“Jen?” He gasped, noticing the red seeming through her shirt. 

“Think maybe I popped a stitch,” she tried to laugh. 

“I suppose Dr. Mallard could fix that,” Morrow said. “See that she gets to rest, Jethro,” he ordered. “I’ll call Ducky. He can have Palmer process the scene.” Gibbs nodded, getting up to help Jen. 

“Mama up?” Leia asked, reaching her arms up again. 

“No, mon petit, marche,” Jenny replied. 

“I can carry her, Jen,” Gibbs suggested. “Okay, Leia?” He held out his arms, and she seemed to judge before looking at her mother. Jenny nodded, and then the smile was back, and the little girl jumped. Gibbs caught her and held her. Taking his free hand to help Jenny to the elevator. “You were going to say something, right?” 

“Eventually,” Jenny said. They went down to autopsy to find it empty. “No, Ducky.” 

“He’s got supplies,” Gibbs responded. “Leia, sit here,” he told the little girl sitting on the stool he often occupied. “Be careful.” 

“Faites attention,” Jenny told her daughter as she leaned against the autopsy table. Gibbs went to her helping her sit on the autopsy table and leaned into her. 

“Does she understand any English?” 

“Of course, Jethro, she’s trilingual at the moment, Ziva’s working on Russian for your sake,” Jenny teased. 

“But she…”

“She’s shy; we speak Hebrew when we’re in London and French in the states,” Jenny explained. Gibbs nodded and went to grab the emergency kit grabbing gauze to stop the bleeding. He pressed carefully. 

“You hurt anywhere else?” He asked. 

“No, I’m okay,” Jenny said. “Leia, it’s okay, sweetheart.” She soothed, noticing the little girl staring at them confused. She seemed like she was going to say something, but Ducky entering, interrupted it. 

“We'll get to this tomorrow, Palmer, just put it…” He trailed off. “On second thought, leave it there, for now, go assist Agent McGee,” Ducky ordered. “Jethro, I trust this was not a result of your little adventure in the quarry.” 

“No.” 

“My own fault, Ducky,” Jenny explained. “I popped some stitches.” Ducky sighed, grabbing his bag off his desk. 

“My dear, I realize that Jethro often thinks he’s bulletproof, but you like to test it,” Ducky lamented. “I’m afraid this will likely scar.” 

“I’m glad you’re taking into account my vanity, but clothes will cover it, and it’s just Leia and me at home,” Jenny said, glancing over at Gibbs before looking away. 

“Perhaps Jethro, you could take young Leia for a snack,” Ducky suggested. “I’m afraid I have little in the way of painkillers.” 

“I’ll send Ziva,” Gibbs said to Jenny. 

“I’ll be fine, shouldn’t take more than twenty minutes, right, Duck?” 

“Yes, it will be quick.” 

“It better,” Gibbs mumbled, turning toward his daughter. “Leia, let’s get a snack from Abby’s lab,” Gibbs said to the little girl. Leia checked with her mother who was smiling and nodding. 

“Cookie?” 

“I’ll see what I can do,” Gibbs promised, opening his arms, she smiled and let him pick her up. 

“Love you, Mama,” Leia called. 

“Love you too, Baby, be good for your dad.” The autopsy doors closed behind them. “I’ve always admired his way with children.” 

“You’ve told me this before,” Ducky recalled thinking back to six years ago. “I could tell you what I told you then.” 

“I remember,” Jenny said as she moved her shirt out of the way. 

“You’ll want to lie down for this,” Ducky told her. “I kept my word to you, but I think you should talk with him.” 

“I will,” Jenny promised. “I have a better understanding now.” 

“Hindsight,” Ducky guessed. Jenny smiled softly; I _ guess Ducky doesn’t know.  _

“Something like that.” 

“Well, I won’t lie to you; this will hurt,” Ducky said. Jenny nodded and tried to relax as she felt the needle dig into her skin. “Jennifer, if you need to pass out, don’t fight it,” Ducky warned her. She nodded, closing her eyes but trying to stay with it. Ducky finished within the twenty-minute time frame that she had given Jethro. When he didn’t show right away, Ducky decided to step out and bring in his other guest to the second table. Jenny was lying on the first table, trying to ease her pain, when they both heard the swish of the doors. Jethro walked through without Leia, having left her with her Aunt. Ducky looked up when he didn’t hear Jethro’s continued footsteps. The good doctor saw his friend freeze inside the door; his eyes focused on the redhead. 

“Jen,” his voice was barely above a whisper, but Jen heard it. Suddenly feeling Jethro standing close to her, his hand on her face. 

“I’m fine,” Jenny replied and heard an exhale. She opened her eyes to find him hanging his head with his eyes closed. She thought about her position for a minute and what it might have looked like to him, still running on adrenaline. Jenny felt terrible and tried to sit up, but her movement startled him, and he was quickly easing her back down. 

“Rest, Jen,” he told her. 

“Autopsy tables aren’t comfortable. Honestly, I’d rather be in bed,” she flirted. Gibbs rolled his eyes at her and helped her sit up. It was then Jenny looked around him and didn’t see her daughter. “Where’s Leia?” 

“With Ziva.” 

“Have Ms. David bring the young one down, and I’ll check her over as well,” Ducky said. Jenny was already ahead of him calling Ziva, and minutes later, Ziva, accompanied by DiNozzo, McGee, and Kate, were down with Leia. Kate was still looking confused, glancing between the child and the redhead. Leia went running to her mother and, with Gibbs help, sat down next to her on the table. 

“Ducky wants to look you over, okay,” Jenny explained to the little girl. “Does anything hurt?” 

“Just my knees,” she whispered, and Gibbs noticed the torn material of her pants. 

“Ziva,” Jenny called the young woman over. “Did he…” 

“He did not,” Ziva assured. Gibbs felt some tension relax from his body. He hadn’t wanted to think Ari would harm a child his sister called niece, but with his hatred for his father, who knew. Jenny clasped Ziva’s arm in a warrior sign of respect. 

“I’m sorry.” 

“It was not your fault,” Ziva absolved. “My father turned him into a monster. There wasn’t anything left of the Ari I knew.” The woman glanced over at Kate Todd and saw the look of disgust being directed back at her. She leaned close to Jenny. “Ari has a way of twisting things, be careful with that one.” 

“Well, my dear, I think you are the definition of perfect health,” Ducky announced, drawing attention to the little girl. “I think you deserve candy.” He presented the young redhead with a chocolate bar. Gibbs walked over to Leia and held his arms out. 

“Well then, little lady, what say we go home?” He asked his daughter. Leia giggled and nodded, letting him pick her up. 

“Mama?” 

“Yes, Mama too,” Gibbs answered, meeting his former partner’s green eyes. Gibbs ignored the widening of Kate’s eyes. He carried the little girl to his partner and, with one hand, gently guided her out of autopsy. 

“Mama?” Kate echoed after the left. 

“When you’re done, Ducky, I shall return the remains to Tel Aviv,” Ziva said, ignoring Kate’s outburst. 

“I will finish first thing tomorrow. Should be able to get you on the evening flight,” Ducky replied. 

“I’ll be going as the official NCIS representative,” Tony added, seemingly quite happy with the arrangement.

“On whose orders?” Kate questioned, slightly jealous, she may not have wanted his attention at the moment, but she certainly didn’t want him with anyone else. 

“The Director’s,” Tony shrugged. “McGeek, go help Abby finish up the evidence.” 

“And what am I supposed to do?” Kate inquired. 

“Reports,” Tony replied. Kate blocked the door. 

“I’m sorry, are we going to ignore the fact that the little girl called an NCIS agent Mom?” Kate demanded. 

“Is that so odd?” Ziva asked. “Even some Mossad Agents are allowed to have children.” 

“She’s not wearing a ring,” Kate pointed out. 

“Ah, Kate, virtuous, Kate,” Tony teased. 

“Quit it, Tony. How do we know she’s not an ex-wife? She held a gun to his head,” Kate snapped. Ducky was laughing. 

“Something funny, Doctor Mallard?” Kate sniped. 

“She’s not an ex-wife,” Ducky replied with another chuckle. “She’d take offense to being called one.” 

“Gibbs doesn’t have any kids with the ex-wives,” McGee reminded. “We also don’t know for sure; all Gibbs said was the child was his partner’s.” 

“And we know how Gibbs is about kids,” Tony replied. 

“It is a sensitive topic,” Ziva observed.

“How would you know?” 

“I’ve been Jenny’s partner for nearly two years, Gibbs has come up.” 

“In what context?” Kate inquired. 

“We were taking on fire; my clips ran out,” Ziva began. “One attacker got too close, I trained in hand to hand, but he got a jump. Jenny stabbed him in the throat and then tossed me her spare knife, telling me always to carry a knife.”

“Rule 9,” Tony agreed. “Any other little lessons?” 

“Don’t mess with her coffee, ever,” Ziva replied with a straight face. 

“Rule 23,” McGee piped up. 

“So Gibbs was her partner, we knew that,” Tony said to Kate. 

“Did you miss the red hair?” Kate said. 

“Partners are close,” Ziva said with a shrug.

“Yea, but with the red hair,” Tony agreed. “Ducky, want to share something with the class?” 

“They were undercover together,” Ducky answered as if it explained everything.

“So a close partner,” Kate inferred. “And she shows up, and suddenly Gibbs is gung ho to kill Ari?” 

“To be fair, he wanted to kill Ari before,” McGee reminded. 

“Ari threatened a child,” Ziva said. “For that, I would have killed him, and Gibbs is a protector; he’s no different.” 

“Ari worked for Mossad,” Kate protested, surprised at the other woman’s response. 

“He betrayed Mossad.” With that, Ziva left the room. The doors swishing behind her. 

“Caitlin, what is this about?” Ducky asked. 

“Some woman pulls a gun on Gibbs in NCIS, none of us question it, Morrow doesn’t say anything to her, and an hour later Gibbs is hunting down Ari to rescue a kid he doesn’t know?” 

“His partner’s kid,” Tony reminded. 

“His kid,” McGee whispered. “That’s what we’ve all been thinking?” 

“I mean, she’s a redhead, that was obvious,” Tony said. “Why is this an issue?” 

“This woman convinced Gibbs to murder someone,” Kate concluded. 

“No, Gibbs killed a terrorist who was holding a child of an NCIS agent, two if suspicions are correct,” Tony answered. “Gibbs is a Marine. What do you think he would do to the man trying to harm his child?” 

“Not commit murder!” Kate snapped.

“Then you don’t know him very well,” Ducky replied, freezing everyone else in the room. Tony simply nodded in agreement and left, McGee following. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for any miswritten French. I tried to have the kiddos translate some sentences for me.


	4. to go forward, first go back

Jenny wasn’t surprised that home meant his home. She had prepared for that, and part of what she stowed in the truck when he picked her up had been clothes for her and Leia. Regardless of what had happened between them, he’d want to make sure his daughter was safe. Jenny also figured as soon as she got Leia settled for the night, he was going to explode, so it was in her best interest to give him as much time with his daughter as possible. She helped Leia out of the truck when they got to the house and followed him in the door. She was surprised when he locked the door behind them. 

“Chinese okay?” Gibbs asked. 

“Sure,” Jenny agreed, leading Leia into the kitchen to get her some water, Gibbs following. 

“Jen,” he said, holding out his hand. 

“Hm?”

“Your gun,” Gibbs held his hand out again, and she nodded, removing it and handing it over. “I’ll lock them downstairs.” Jenny nodded as he disappeared, calling into a delivery place for food. 

“Stay with Daddy?” Leia asked, tugging on her mother’s sleeve. 

“Yes, baby, we’re going to stay with Daddy for a little bit,” She answered. 

“Dumpling?” 

“Yes, I’m sure Daddy got you Dumplings,” Jenny smiled.  _ Actually, I’m sure he got me dumplings; I just hope he ordered double. I don’t want to share _ . 

“Double order of dumplings ordered,” Jethro said, coming back into the kitchen. 

“Still got a boat?” Jenny asked. Gibbs turned to walk toward the basement, and Leia and Jenny followed down the stairs. She watched as Jethro started to show Leia the boat and grab a sander to show her how to help. “Is this the same boat you were building six years ago?”

“Nope.”

“What happened to it?” Jenny asked curiously. 

“I burned her,” Gibbs said, coming a little closer so Leia wouldn’t hear. 

“Why would you…” she trailed off with a smirk. “You named it after an ex-wife. Which one?” 

“You know damn well which one,” Gibbs whispered harshly. 

“Why didn't you change the name?”

“Because it wouldn't matter. Every time I went out on her, I'd think of Diane.” 

“You could have sold it,” Jenny suggested turning her eye on her daughter. 

“And watched some other guy sail off on her?” Jenny turned back to him, smiling innocently. 

“You didn't care who sailed off on Diane.” There was a grunt, and he walked back toward Leia to help her with the sander. 

“Leroy Jethro Gibbs, you are a strange man,” Jenny concluded, sitting down on a stool out of the way. 

“Me! Ha!” He picked up Leia so she could stand on a bench and reach better. “There you 

go, Leia, with the grain.” 

“Like this?” 

“Great job,” he praised, and Jenny smiled. Dinner showed up twenty minutes later, and they ate while Gibbs asked Leia questions about herself. Jenny gave her back her ‘Be Mine’ Bear. Leia yawned as they were cleaning up. 

“Mama tired,” she said sleepily. 

“I bet you are,” Jenny comforted, pulling the little girl into her legs. 

“There’s a bed upstairs; the room has an on-suite, not much else,” he said. Jenny knelt to lift Leia until Jethro called her name. “Whatcha doing?” 

“Fine, you get to carry her,” She told him. Gibbs gladly picked up the little girl and took her upstairs with Jenny following. She glanced around the room, having never really been in this part of the house. It was void of personal touches, and the bed hadn’t looked slept in. _ Not a surprise, he usually slept on the couch until we _ ...she trailed off at that. She, too, had problems sleeping in a bed after leaving Paris. It was too big. “She needs a bath.” 

“Bathroom has a tub.” Gibbs pointed toward the door. 

“Leia, bath,” Jenny called the little girl heading toward the door. Jethro gave them some privacy but brought up Jenny’s bag that she stowed in the car earlier. He could hear the two giggling, and for half a second, the voices changed, and he was in another life listening to giggles. Gibbs shook his head and smiled.  _ Don’t waste good _ ; he reminded himself. 

“I’ve got your stuff,” he called into the bathroom—another round of giggles. 

“Thanks!” Jenny called back. He went back downstairs and was sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee when he heard pitter-patter on the steps. Leia came running down the hall into the living room before jumping on the couch next to him. 

“Daddy!” 

“Hello, Leia bean,” he tried the nickname, and her face lit up with a smile before she flung her arms around him, hugging him. 

“Night Night Moon,” Leia said. 

“Night, night, Moon?” He echoed. 

“It’s a book, Jethro; she wants you to read her a story,” Jenny explained, holding out the book. Gibbs took the book and offered reading glasses before turning to the little girl curled up next to him and began reading the story. He wasn’t halfway through when he felt her little body go lax. 

“Think she’s asleep,” he whispered. 

“Finally,” Jenny sighed. She saw him start to move. “No, leave her for a few minutes. She...she wakes easily.” 

“You know when you lie, your right eye twitches, always has,” Gibbs replied. Her hand darted to said eye with a confused look. 

“We worked on tells,” she reminded. 

“Yea, I needed one for just me,” he tried. Jenny laughed softly before looking around the room. 

“Um...I guess we should talk,” She said. 

“Ah, an ulterior motive,” Gibbs guessed, gesturing to the little girl. 

“Well, you can’t kill me when she’s sitting next to you.” 

“I don’t want to…” 

“It was a joke, Jethro, a poor one,” Jenny admitted. 

“Did you know?” He asked. 

“No, not till after I’d left,” she paused for a moment. “There are...Jethro, there are things about Paris, about that op...something went wrong.” 

“What?” Gibbs questioned, turning to face her, careful not to disturb the little girl. “Jen?”

“You left to do your part, Anatoly...after you left, Leon Vance called Decker and called an audible, Vance said he would take Svetlana, so Decker and I went after the third member, I shot him. Decker froze. You remember a week later; we were out walking, I saw Svetlana, alive and well. She saw us; she knew who you were. She knew you had killed her lover. She threatened me, and I fled. Fast forward three months, and I found out about Leia, I panicked. It was six months before I told anyone; I called Ducky. He told me about Stephaine…”

“Ducky knew?” Gibbs clarified. “He knew you were pregnant; Leia seems comfortable with him.” 

“Ducky tried to convince me to tell you, but Jethro...I...I had to protect her. You had two ex-wives, were getting married again, and six months before that, you had been with me. You never had a child with any of them; in fact, I distinctly remember saying you wouldn’t ever have a child with Diane. I didn’t think you would want her and I...I did, do, I wanted that piece of us.” 

“You didn’t give me a chance.” 

“I was scared, Jethro, everything in my life I’d planned, except you. I did what was best for me, for Leia and me,” Jenny snapped. “I regretted it every day more so after I read the profile, but then, then there was a new fear, that you wouldn’t want her at all because she’s not…” 

“Jen,” Gibbs put his hand over her mouth. “I should have told you about Shannon and Kelly.”

“You didn’t owe me an explanation.”

“I did, Jen; I owed you more than I… I should have told you,” he concluded. “If you didn’t expect me in your five-point plan, I sure as hell never thought you could exist. You were everything I could have ever wanted. It...I felt guilty for loving you. Shannon was a wonderful woman, and I thought she was the love of my life at first, but even in the years, we were married. It was...young love. As we grew up, we grew apart. Before she was killed, I’d gotten a letter from her asking for a divorce. I...I try to forget that because of everything that happened, but neither of us was happy. We both loved Kelly, we were fond of each other, but we weren’t in love with each other anymore. It’s how I knew you were different, from her, from Laura and Diane, from any other woman; you were  _ the _ woman,” Gibbs explained. 

“And I betrayed you,” Jenny concluded, having sunk into a stunned silence. 

“I wouldn’t...” She glared at him, and he nodded with a sigh. “We have a kid, Jen.” 

“Yes, we do, and I meant what I said. I want Leia to know her father. We could work out a custody deal…”

“And how would that work, Jen? I get her every other week? Holidays and summers? When you’re undercover? She’s almost in school; we can’t have her in a school in London and the States. Or maybe you want me to move to London, give up my team…” 

“I’ve been given an offer here,” Jenny interrupted. “I’d be living at my house. Leia would be in Georgetown, barely fifteen minutes away.” 

“What?” 

“It’s not final yet, but regardless if it comes through or not, it would...We’d be here.” 

“You’re leaving NCIS?” 

“No, not exactly,” Jenny said. 

“Then what about you?”

“What about me?” 

“What…” Gibbs trailed off. “We have a kid, and yes, I want to be her father, but if you recall, I didn’t get a say in you leaving the first time.” 

“You could have come after me.” 

“And believe me, I regret not doing that, at least once a day. Today it’s been a little more frequent. Off the job, you and me.”

“I…” 

“I missed you, Jen,” Gibbs told her, his hand cupping her cheek. Her eyes darted to his lips before meeting his again, and he took that as a sign to continue, pressing a gentle kiss to her lips over their sleeping daughter’s head. Jenny returned the kiss for a moment before pulling away. 

“Jethro…” 

“I love you, Jen, and yea, I’m pissed off at you, but it doesn’t stop me loving you and wanting you to stay,” Gibbs explained. She nodded before giving a soft smile. 

“That’ll be the day,” she teased. He simply kissed her again, a shorter chaste kiss. Jenny pulled back again, her face taking on a thoughtful look. “I...I have to call Morrow for a second. I’ll be right back.” She stood up, half glad that he was trapped by their sleeping daughter, as she went into the kitchen pulling out her cell phone. 

Gibbs was confused. Scratch that, he was confused and elated. Elated because he had kissed the woman he loved twice. Confused because she had just gotten up and said she had to call their boss. Not exactly the reaction he’d been hoping for. He carefully lifted Leia into his arms, careful not to disturb her, and walked toward the kitchen, hearing Jenny’s soft voice. 

“It’s nonnegotiable,” She told who he guessed was Morrow firmly. “If they can’t live with that, then tell them I’m not interested.” He couldn’t hear Morrow’s response but gathered it wasn’t what she wanted to hear. “I know what I told them. I can still do that and have this. I think I’ve made my point. I’ll wait for your answer tomorrow.” Gibbs watched as she hung up the phone and put it back in her pocket. He watched as she straightened her back and glanced over her shoulder, raising an eyebrow at her. 

“I was going to put her to bed,” Gibbs said, not even bother to deny listening in. 

“I’ll help,” Jenny replied, following as he went up the stairs. She watched as he carefully tucked in the sleeping girl, running his hand over her forehead as if to wipe away bad dreams. Jenny leaned down as he stepped aside and kissed their daughter on the forehead. “Sweet dreams, baby.” 

They both backed out of the room, taking care to leave the door slightly cracked so the light from the hallway could act as a night light. Gibbs guided her back to the kitchen, where he pulled two mason jars from the drying rack and grabbed the bottle of bourbon, holding it out in question to her. 

“Pretty sure we have bourbon to thank for her,” Jenny sighed, taking the mason jar filled with the amber liquid. 

“I forgot the…”

“If it were just you forgetting, we probably would have been in that situation much earlier. No, it was my fault.”

“You were on birth control.” 

“Which isn’t 100% for some women, but even less so when combined with lots of alcohol,” Jenny remarked. 

“Oh,” Gibbs hadn’t known that. He’d been so careful with his ex-wives, but with Jenny, making love with her was a different experience; it was an extension of them, how well they knew each other, and he knew he had enough secrets between them, he didn’t want anything else. They both fell silent before Jenny took a deep breath, his cue she was mentally preparing herself for something. 

“I love you, Jethro,” Jenny said softly, he leaned in to kiss her, but she stopped him. “I want to, believe me, but I have to tell you something. The job I’m being offered complicates things.” 

“It’s always the job with you, Jen,” He sighed. “There’s not a rule about fraternization as long as both parties are equal. And we already broke that one...Morrow didn’t seem like he was going to punish either one of us.”

“When you were the boss,” Jenny said. “What if I was the boss?” 

“Morrow’s going to make you the Major Case Team Leader? What, he’s demoting me?”

“No, Jethro,” Jenny started.

“Well then, we’re equal,” Gibbs interrupted. 

“No, they’ve asked me to become the Director.” 

“Of?” 

“NCIS.” Gibbs sat back at that. 

“Morrow would leave NCIS?”

“He’s been offered a position in Homeland Security, and SecNav wanted to nominate someone a little younger.” 

“You’d give up the field for rubber chicken dinners?”

“Yes!” Jenny snapped, “Not just because I have a child, but because I know I can get NCIS noticed. Get us more funding so that your lab tech can have new machines. So maybe agents could get a raise. The work you and I did, the work I’ve done in Spain, and Mossad in the anti-terrorism division could make us a better agency. ” 

“What, get Bin Laden?”

“Maybe!”

“You’d be doing the press circuit, the first female director of an armed federal agency.” 

“Yes, there’s that too, but I decide how much of that. Congress doesn’t even know about Leia; it was my original condition; Leia was to be kept out of it.”

“How’d you manage that? A background check would have…”

“Because her name isn’t Leia Shepard, it’s Gibbs. I had it legally changed from Talbert.”

“Talbert?”

“Six years ago, Jenny Shepard took a vacation to Ireland, and six years ago in a small town outside Paris, Geneive Talbert gave birth to a daughter.”

“Jack and Geneive Talbert…”

“NCIS made those aliases using witness protection grade backers. They still exist, and when I started doing undercover work with Mossad, they got another layer of protection. They don’t exist on NCIS databases anymore.” 

“Morrow didn’t know you were pregnant.” 

“He only found out about Leia a year ago after Ziva saved my life in Cairo.” 

“How did he know I…”

“He found out from Ducky; they were...planning to send Leia to you, should I have...succumbed to my injuries.” 

“What?” Gibbs seemed caught off guard trying to take in everything she had said, his brain trying to catch up. “Wait, you said the original condition, implying that you added more?” 

“I did. Today, twenty minutes ago,” Jenny confirmed. 

“What was it?” Gibbs asked, stepping closer. “The new condition?” 

“Jethro, when I train my Probies, I teach them all a basic rule of survival,” Jenny started matching his step and closing the distance between them. 

“Always carry a knife?” He asked, his hand sliding to the one in her back pocket and resting his hand over it. 

“No,” she breathed. “What Gibbs doesn’t know…”

“Can’t hurt him?” He taunted. 

“Can’t hurt us,” she replied, patting his cheek and stepping away to take a sip of her bourbon. 

“Cute Jen, you’re cute.” She smiled sweetly in response. “You don’t want to tell me, fine. I want to talk to you about Paris; what you said about Vance?” The smile disappeared. “If Svetlana is still alive…”

“She’s a risk, I know,” Jenny said. “Another reason to hope I get the job.” 

“Jen,” Gibbs warned. “You can’t just use the position…”

“All Directors use their position to further their agenda.”

“They also have oversight; if SecNav were briefed, he would never…”

“Never go after Arms Dealers? I disagree,” Jenny challenged. Gibbs paused, studying her. 

“You already have one picked out,” Gibbs clarified. 

“His name is Le Grenouille,” Jenny said offhandedly. 

“The Frog?”

“Yes, and other agencies have tried to get him, but I figured out a way to get to him,” Jenny explained quietly, sitting down in the kitchen. 

“Aww hell, Jen,” Gibbs sighed, taking one look at her and recognizing the look of vengeance. He knelt in front of her taking her hands in his. “You read the profile Ziva made; you know what I did, Jen...it doesn’t...I don’t know what he did to you, but…”

“Jethro, you’re not making any sense,” Jenny said, gripping his hands. “What are you talking about? The Czech Republic? I know you killed the man who shot me. Ziva’s profile didn’t tell me that.” 

“No, I mean that’s part of it, but how did you…nevermind….The man who killed Shannon and Kelly was a member of a drug cartel. The head of the cartel went missing about six months later. It...it doesn’t bring the relief you’d think.” Perhaps a minute too long, Jenny was silent as Gibbs dropped her hands and stood up away from her. She reached out to stop him, her hand grabbing his wrist tightly. 

“His name, Le Grenouille, his name is Rene Benoit. He murdered my father.” 

“Jen…” Gibbs trailed off, tucking a hair behind her ear. 

“Jethro, that information isn’t in Ziva’s profile. It says their case is still open, but following that was a newspaper clipping from the Czech Republic about a man floating in a river. I recognized him. I suppose I should have made the connection, but I...I was trying to figure out how Ziva had connected you to the man in the article.” 

“Now you know,” Gibbs said. “There are ways to get him.” 

“I know,” Jenny answered. 

“Ways that don’t involve you shooting him.” 

“Would you do it again?” Gibbs looked away. “I’ll try to get to him through an op, but if I can’t…” 

“Then I’ll be watching your back,” Gibbs promised; he leaned forward to meet her lips only for the two of them to be broken apart by the scream of a terrified little girl. They were both on their feet and running up the stairs to the door to find Leia sitting up in the bed crying. 

“Mama! Mama! Où es-tu?” 

“Leia,” Jenny soothed. “Baby, I’m here.” Jenny sat down on the bed, pulling the little girl into her arms. 

“Mama,” Leia sniffled. 

“It’s okay, Ça ira.” Jenny looked up as Gibs entered the room, carefully grabbing the blankets. 

“I think we need to warm the blankets; I’ll toss them in the dryer.” Gibbs left, and Jenny heard the dryer click on shortly after. Jenny picked up Leia and carried her into the bathroom, taking a warm washcloth to wipe her face. 

“That’s my girl,” Jenny said, kissing the little girl on her forehead. “You had a busy day. Did you talk to Ziva?”

“Yes,” came the whispered response. “English?”

“Yea, baby, it’s okay to speak English here. We’re safe.” 

“He wasn’t very nice; he took Barry,” Leia complained, referring to the stuffed bear. “He hurt you, Mama.” 

“I know, sweetheart, I know. Did he hurt you?” 

“He gave me medicine, it was pink, and then I felt sleepy. Then you were there,” Leia said. Jenny pulled Leia close to her chest. 

“It’s okay; he’s never going to hurt you again,” Jenny promised. 

“What about his lady?”

“What?” Jenny questioned, looking at Leia’s eyes. 

“The lady he talked to.”

“Doda Ziva?” 

“No,” Leia said, snuggling back. “He liked her.” Jenny froze, a warning Ziva had given echoing in her head. “Where’s Daddy?” 

“Right here,” Gibbs answered, coming back and fluffing the blankets onto the bed. 

“Daddy, hi,” Leia smiled. “Mama, stay.” 

“Of course, sweetheart,” Jenny agreed, helping Leia under the blankets. She slipped off her shoes, grateful that she’d changed after giving Leia her bath. Jenny curled herself on top of the comforter and was surprised when Leia wrapped her small arms around her. Gibbs carefully covered Leia and Jenny in the warm blankets. 

“There you go, Leia bean,” he said softly. “Close your eyes.” 

“Jethro.”

“We’ll talk tomorrow, Jen,” Gibbs said with a soft smile. He watched fondly as Jen turned her attention back to their daughter, humming a tune to try and get her to go back to sleep. Gibbs walked down to his boat, grabbing the sander off the workbench before placing it back down and grabbing the hidden box instead. Gibbs flipped through Kelly and Shannon’s photos before reaching another bundle of photos tucked inside a letter. The pictures of him and the redhead in this set of images had Gibbs thinking about the past 24 hours.  _ Angry, yes, but also relieved, at peace _ , Gibbs thought. Yes, he would do whatever he could to build a relationship with his new daughter, but he wasn’t going to give up on her mother either, new job be damned. Eventually, Gibbs lay down under the boat tucking the photo Jenny had given him of her holding their daughter into his pocket. He closed his eyes for what seemed like a nanosecond before he heard a noise on the steps. 

“Daddy,” came the not whisper. Gibbs was on his feet, standing in front of her. 

“Leia bean, what’s wrong?” 

“I heard a noise.” 

“It’s okay, baby,” Gibbs soothed, reaching out to her. She moved closer and allowed him to pick her up, tucking her head into his shoulder. A glance at the clock in the kitchen told him three hours had passed. He was surprised Jenny hadn’t felt Leia move but one glance at her told him she was in pain, likely from the wounds Ducky had patched. Gibbs lay Leia back down next to her mother before going to the bathroom and grabbing some Tylenol and water. He’d wake Jen up and make her take them; he pressed his hand to Jenny’s shoulder, intending to shake her when Leia’s hand covered his. 

“No, Daddy,” Leia said sternly. “I’m protecting Mama; we have to let her sleep.” 

“You’re right,” Gibbs smiled. “But this will help.” 

“No,” Leia repeated. “Have to protect her, Dodah said so.” 

“Dodah Ziva?” Gibbs said carefully. “When did she say that?”

“Before Arwi,” came the response. Gibbs could pick out Ari in her young voice and quickly put together the scene from the photos Ari had shown him. There was a reason Leia had been covered in her mother’s blood, Ari must have tried to get Leia at night, and instead of finding her in her bed, she’d been sleeping next to Jenny. 

“You did a great job protecting Mama,” Gibbs praised, watching the smile spread across his daughter’s face. “Let me help you protect Mama.” Leia seemed to think that over before nodding and holding out her tiny hand, Gibbs carefully shaking it before they were disturbed by Jenny shifting. 

“What are the two of you doing?” She asked tiredly. 

“Protecting you, Mama,” Leia announced proudly. Jenny looked over at him, and he nodded in agreement before holding out the Tylenol and water. 

“Take this,” Gibbs encouraged. Jenny sat up carefully, accepting the painkillers and water. 

“Okay, now little girls should be asleep,” Jenny said, looking over at Leia, who snuggled into the bed again. 

“Daddy’s going to help me protect.”

“Who’s he going to help you protect?” Jenny asked, thinking she was playing along. 

“You, Mama,” Leia answered, and Jenny glanced back at Jethro to see a look she hadn’t seen in years. 

“Daddy’s good at that,” Jenny assured, lying back down. Gibbs went to the door again, turning off the light. 

“Daddy, stay,” Leia whined. Jenny watched as his eyes widened and he looked at her. 

“It’s okay, Jethro,” Jenny said, understanding. Gibbs slipped off his shoes and lay down on the other side of Leia. He placed a hand on the little girl’s back only to feel it covered by Jenny’s soft hands intertwining. Minutes later, they felt her breathing even out as Leia fell asleep. Gibbs shifted as if to move, and Jenny tightened her hand. 

“Stay, Jethro,” Jenny said softly. He relaxed. “Something bothering you?”

“No,” he tried. 

“Jethro…”

“It’s not important.”

“Jethro, we can’t start this if we’re not honest,” Jenny sighed. “You’re keeping me in the dark about something to protect me; believe me, I understand the temptation. Agent Kate Todd.”

“What about her?” 

“She was the one taken by Ari,” Jenny whispered. 

“You know that,” Gibbs reminded. 

“Did she mention she’s still talking to him?” Gibbs sat up to look at Jenny. “Leia mentioned Ari talking to his lady; it wasn’t Ziva. Leia said Ari liked her.” 

“Ari was a little...obsessed with Kate. She bonded with him, probably why he let her live.” 

“That explains the past, not now, not a couple of months later, not when the last time I held my daughter was less than 48 hours ago. Ari had our child for barely two days, and she heard him talking to Kate.” 

“Jen, Leia’s six. He could have been talking to any woman.” 

“Ah, Kate asked you not to kill him after she was retrieved,” Jenny concluded. 

“If she talked to him, it was probably Ari manipulating her. Using her. Like your friend is using you.” 

“I know Ziva’s using me; it’s a two-way path. The difference is I still trust Ziva with my life, with my child’s life.”

“Would you if she knew you killed her brother?” 

“Half brother, and yes, plus she already knows.”

“What?” 

“I’m still not sure why you told your team and Morrow that you did it, but Ziva knows the truth. I only beat her to it.” 

“Leia said Ziva told her to protect you. That’s why she was in your bed the night she was taken.” 

“I know,” Jenny sighed. “It was a joke between them; I know it’s now likely to be a trigger, that she’s going to be spending a lot of time in my bed.” At that, Gibbs tightened his hand on hers. 

“There’s a solution to that.” 

“What? Have you here to protect me?” She laughed, and he gave her a smirk. 

“Be just like Marsaielle, August, the second night that’s the first time we…” Jenny reached up, covering his mouth. 

“Okay, shut up,” Jenny paused. “So why did you lie?” 

“To protect you,” Gibbs said.

“Ari is not the first person I’ve killed on orders or not.” 

“I know,” Gibbs said simply. “These...incidents usually have repercussions. Morrow is used to dealing with them for me.”

“Morrow might not be the one dealing with it,” Jenny said after a minute. 

“All the more reason,” Gibbs smirked. “Ari wasn’t going to stop; I think he was confident he had killed you and found out later that you were still alive. The package, the bear came in, Abby had been looking at it. It was originally addressed to me. He found out you were alive and changed it.”

“Ziva never made contact.”

“That she told you.” 

“The package arrived less than a half-hour after Ziva, and I arrived. Someone could have tipped him off about Ziva. Ziva knew you were the father; Ziva knew that if anything ever happened to me, she should come to you.”

“She could have told Ari about Leia.” 

“Leia isn’t in your profile, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he had just read the profile and happened to see her once. She looks like you, and Ari was far from stupid,” Jenny concluded. “It’s not hard math.” 

“Let’s say someone tipped off Ari, someone not Ziva,” Gibbs theorized. “Based on what Leia told you, it’s a woman, and she’s inside NCIS.” 

“Jethro...I know she’s your agent, but Ziva was right; Ari is very good at twisting things.” 

“And I would maintain that she was manipulated into it. Regardless, I’m not going to accuse her; I’ll have DiNozzo do some digging tomorrow.”

“He’s accompanying Ziva back to Tel Aviv tomorrow night, Morrow’s orders.”

“Oh, that’s a terrible idea,” Gibbs laughed softly. “Please ask Zivia not to kill him.” 

“What?”

“DiNozzo and I...while he’s a chip off the old block, and in every way that you would be my type, Ziva is his, and as much as I was not ready for you, DiNozzo cannot handle Ziva, yet.” 

“Well, I guess my first personnel move if I become the director will be well received then.” 

“What?” 

“I’ll tell you if I become Director,” Jenny promised, settling back into the pillows and closing her eyes. 

“When,” Gibbs retorted, settling down himself, the two of them falling asleep with their daughter between them. 

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Day 5 of Virtual Learning (we did get the call we go back on Monday in person, but maybe for the rest of the weekend I'll keep updating).


End file.
